Election 2011 Judge, mayor and board members take part in forum

Tuesday

Nov 1, 2011 at 12:01 AM

By LAURA SIEDLECKIStaff WriterWOOSTER -- The League of Women Voters of Wayne County and the Wooster branch of American Association of University Women held a candidates' night to give the community a chance to learn about the candidates in a question and answer forum.Questions from the audience were asked to each candidate from three races: Wayne County Municipal Court judge, Wooster City Schools board and Wooster mayor.Each candidate was allowed one minute for rebuttal determined by moderator Cindy Biggs.When questioned about the biggest issue facing the Municipal Court, David Todaro said it's crime, in the misdemeanor level, which often escalates to become a felony. He said people face prison time or other forms of punishment that often ruins their life. He said many of the offenses are drug related and there is a large amount of repeat offenders."You can tell when someone is a first-time offender ... they get punished and they move on," Todaro said.Others are people who are repeat offenders and there needs to be programs that deal specifically with repeat offenders, he added.Current Judge Carol White Millhoan said one of the biggest issues facing the court is the new Legislature about felony sentencing since it leaves less space available in the jail and prisons for offenders with misdemeanor offenses."Dealing with the issue will be difficult," she said.Both candidates were asked if they had any plans or how they would improve efficiency. Millhoan said she believes she's done a great deal the last couple years in improving efficiency by reducing the budget. Although the budget decreased, she said the court was able to increase services.She said in the last six years she has served as judge, there has been a 15 percent reduction in misdemeanor cases filed, which saves money for the court.Todaro later said the 15 percent reduction was due to budget cuts in law enforcement, therefore, misdemeanor traffic offenses decreased.Todaro said to make the court more efficient the pay or appear program needs to be replaced since there are people who are not paying fees and fines. He said the common pleas court hands over the responsibility of delinquent fines and fees to a debt collection agency. Todaro said he didn't think Wayne County resources and employees should waste time tracking down people who stop appearing in court and those who do not pay, instead a collection agency should make sure the money is collected.Millhoan said the pay or appear program holds people accountable and everyone is treated with respect. She said some people appear and pay $5 and they are happy about that. Millhoan said 86 percent of fines are collected.Todaro responded saying a classic example is a woman who has been served 38 bench warrants, been arrested 36 times and spent a number of days in jail. He said this example shows how the current system is a waste of resources.Millhoan said collection agencies give up many times or file a civil action in court, which doesn't make sense.Discussing each of their backgrounds, Todaro said he was the only candidate running for judge who has tried cases. Millhoan responded saying if he did his research he would see she has tried trials to court, just not jury trials.A question how each candidate felt about if there are any merits to non-violent offenders living in the community, Todaro said he doesn't believe there are any. Millhoan said although no one would like to admit it, there are felons living in the community."It's not a situation we'd desire, but it's what we have to live with," she added.Running for Wooster board, Michael Steiner and Todd Spiker discussed changing the schools to grade-level schools. Spiker said he thinks grade-level schools have benefits, but moving eighth-grade up with the high school isn't an option he favors. Steiner clarified there is no proposal at this time for grade-level schools, however, they are studying neighborhood grade-level schools to see if a change is warranted."We need to look at operating efficiently," he added.With Issue 2, Steiner says it can hurt and help the school system. He believed Senate Bill 5 went too far and doesn't think seniority should dictate moves human resource departments make. Steiner said he's not in favor of tenure either, but it's important to consider the fiscal well-being of the schools. Spiker agreed saying tenure shouldn't dictate teachers' job."They should be just like anybody else ... if their performance is low they should be let go or reprimanded," he added.Discussing the affect of charter schools, Steiner said the board recently looked at statistics of the number of students living within the Wooster City School limits and the number of students attending school elsewhere has not changed much in the past few years.A question asking whether it's contradictory to ask citizens to pass a school levy then offer business tax abatements was discussed and both Spiker and Steiner said it was not contradictory. Spiker said a tier system should potentially be in place, however, he doesn't believe it's a bad thing to offer. Steiner said in order to create jobs and opportunities tax abatements need to be offered.The mayoral candidates began by answering a question about Tent City.Incumbent Mayor Bob Breneman said it was interesting since most people don't realize the people who live in Tent City choose to live there. He said many have the opportunity to use social service organizations. A couple of months ago, he said, he held a meeting with several social organizations and they all said they have tried to help the people in Tent City.Challenger Greg Gehris, running on the independent ticket, said it was not a laughing matter and said all those living in Tent City do not choose, however since they don't have any money or a job, they can't go anywhere else. He said a lot of the social service agencies only allow people to stay for a short time and if they don't have a form of income or a job, they are no longer able to stay."It's a growing problem, not a diminishing problem ... we can't be in denial," he added.Turning the city "green" was another issue Gehris thinks needs to be taken seriously. He said recycling isn't enough and the city needs bus routes, safe sidewalks, bike routes and more.Breneman said he thinks a lot has been done recently with a new process where contaminated water through a chemical process is turned into clean water.A question about taxes on retirement funds was an issue Breneman and Gehris went back and forth on. Breneman said he saw the merit behind it, but the reality is it would be a state issue. Gehris said Breneman previously discussed taxing retirees. Breneman said he does not support the issue, however, having conversations about taxing retirees is absolutely something to be discussed. Gehris said instead of taxing the retirees, the College of Wooster should be taxed.Unopposed candidates with four-year terms include Wooster City Council President Mike Buytendyk, at large Councilman Craig Sanders, 1st Ward Councilman Mark Cavin and school board members William Gantz and Robert J. Reynolds.Laura Siedlecki can be reached at 330-287-1632 or lsiedlecki@the-daily-record.com. Follow her on Twitter @lsiedleckiTDR.